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Thousands Gather in Lebanon for Shi'ite Cleric's Funeral

   Grand  Ayatollah  Mohammed  Hussein  Fadlallah  died  Sunday in Beirut
   hospital after a long illness

   VOA News 06 July 2010
   Shiite  women  mourn  next  to a poster of Lebanon's top Shiite cleric
   Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah after the announcement that
   he had died , at a mosque in the southern suburb of Beirut, Le

Photo: AP

   Shiite  women  mourn  next  to a poster of Lebanon's top Shiite cleric
   Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah after the announcement that
   he  had  died , at a mosque in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon,
   on Sunday, July 4, 2010.

   Thousands of mourners have gathered in south Beirut for the funeral of
   Lebanon's  top  Shi'ite  cleric  and  one  of  the sect's most revered
   religious authorities.
   The  government  declared Tuesday a national day of mourning for Grand
   Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah.  The Shi'ite cleric died Sunday
   in a Beirut hospital after a long illness.  He was 75.
   Thousands  of  Fadlallah's  followers  converged  Tuesday  on Beirut's
   southern   suburbs,   a  stronghold  of  the  Shi'ite  militant  group
   Hezbollah,  to take part in the funeral procession.  Mourners dressed
   in  black  accompanied the coffin from Fadlallah's house to the mosque
   for burial.
   Fadlallah  had  strong followings in Lebanon and in Iraq, where he was
   born.   He was a fierce critic of Israel and the United States, which
   formally labeled him a terrorist.
   Fadlallah was often described in Western media as the spiritual mentor
   of  Hezbollah, formed with Iran's help after Israel invaded Lebanon in
   1982, although he denied having such a role.
   The  United  States accused Fadlallah of links to the radical Shi'ites
   who  kidnapped  Western  hostages during the height of Lebanon's civil
   war in the 1980s, but he denied involvement.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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